Publications [#253747] of David C. Rubin

Journal Articles

1. Rubin, DC; Berntsen, D, People over forty feel 20% younger than their age: subjective age across the lifespan., vol. 13 no. 5 (October, 2006), pp. 776-780, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, ISSN 1069-9384 [17328372], [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/23)

   Abstract:
   Subjective age--the age people think of themselves asbeing--is measured in a representative Danish sample of 1,470 adults between 20 and 97 years of age through personal, in-home interviews. On the average, adults younger than 25 have older subjective ages, and those older than 25 have younger subjective ages, favoring a lifespan-developmental view over an age-denial view of subjective age. When the discrepancy between subjective and chronological age is calculated as a proportion of chronological age, no increase is seen after age 40; older respondents feel 20% younger than their actual age. Demographic variables (gender, income, and education) account for very little variance in subjective age.